Nick Austen and Gemma Mintram, pharmacy solicitors in the healthcare team at Cripps LLP, consider how TUPE will affect the sale or purchase of your pharmacy. What does TUPE stand for? TUPE stands for The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 which came into force on 6 April 2006. When does […]

Nick Austen and Gemma Mintram, pharmacy solicitors in the healthcare team at Cripps LLP, highlight the issues pharmacy owners should be aware of when building their brand. As with most other businesses, the future for pharmacy may lie in a more customer-focused approach. Customers will have an increasing level of choice over their supplier […]

Nick Austen and Gemma Mintram, pharmacy solicitors in the healthcare team at Cripps LLP discuss whether a landlord is able to make a pharmacy owner leave the pharmacy premises at the end of the lease term? The answer to this question is not straightforward – so it’s a “maybe/maybe not”, depending on the circumstances […]

Sometimes, unfortunate circumstances or a reluctance to meet legal proceedings head-on can result in judgment being obtained against you or your company, which can have a serious effect on your future credit rating. If you do find yourself in this situation, the following tips will help you to minimise the judgment’s impact. What if […]

Unfortunately not! Despite the High Court case of Oxfordshire City Council v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and others 2015 which has confirmed that the payment of a monitoring and administration fee to the Council is not “necessary to make development acceptable in planning terms”, because monitoring and administration functions are already […]

A commercial dispute is an unwelcome risk for every business, diverting valuable time and resources away from profitable activities. The best way of managing disputes is of course to avoid them altogether. A risk-based approach to individual transactions and your business as a whole can help diminish the likelihood that a dispute will arise in […]

Most businesses, as employers, will know that they cannot discriminate against employees or prospective employees who have a disability. But how many businesses are aware of their legal obligation to avoid discriminating against customers, and the potential business that they are losing out on if they do? Legal requirements The Equality Act 2010 […]

A reminder that the Stamp Taxes and ATED (Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings‎) guidance on the HMRC website moved to the gov.uk website on 18th Dec. As part of the government’s plan to become ‘digital by default’, all public-facing government websites are being moved to just one site at www.gov.uk. Most departments have already […]

Retailers continue to invest in their IT infrastructure as they recognise that there are many benefits to procuring the right technology and staying ahead of the competition, from improving efficiencies and reducing costs, to improving the way they interact with customers. Furthermore, the rise in the number of online shoppers and the fact that consumers […]

The new CDM regime will apply to almost every construction project from 6 April 2015 and it is important that the industry prepares itself as early as possible. There will be a general simplification of the Regulations to be more in line with the project process and more health and safety responsibility will be […]

During 2012 and 2013 the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) undertook nine advisory visits to various social housing organisations to better understand how these organisations were processing personal data. The ICO provided guidance and advice to the organisations during the visits, and following its evaluation issued a report in 2014 summarising its findings. The ICO […]

Many readers will be aware that s106 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Planning Agreements or Obligations often contain a clause obliging the developer to pay the council’s costs in monitoring compliance by the developer with the Planning Obligations. This was challenged successfully in the case of Oxfordshire City Council v Secretary of State […]

Crowdfunding has been in the news increasingly as a way to raise money. For certain businesses, there is the added bonus of being able to offer an exciting opportunity to spread the word about their products and brands and to create a loyal and passionate customer base. Cripps acted on a substantial, innovative and […]

February 2015 Changes are afoot in data protection law. Last year the European Parliament voted in favour of the EU General Data Protection Regulation, which would significantly expand data protection laws within the EU. However, the European Council has yet to agree, and the Regulation remains the subject of considerable debate, particularly regarding the […]

February 2015 Contractual rights are all very well and good, but without a means of enforcing them, they are often of little benefit. Audit rights can help you to determine whether a party to your contract is complying with their obligations, and determine what your damages are if they aren’t. Customers can ensure that […]

February 2015 On 1 December 2014, a new shared parental leave (SPL) regime came into force which allows parents whose baby is due or adoption placement will take place on or after 5 April 2015, to share a maximum of 50 weeks of leave. This can be taken at any time after the two […]

February 2015 During 2012 and 2013 the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) undertook nine advisory visits to various social housing organisations to better understand how these organisations were processing personal data. The ICO provided guidance and advice to the organisations during the visits, and following its evaluation issued a report summarising its findings. Although […]

February 2015 The government has recently taken action to minimise the potentially damaging impact of the recent ruling from the UK’s Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that holiday pay should reflect non-guaranteed overtime, by introducing new legislation. The Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014 were laid before Parliament on 18 December 2014. These Regulations: […]

We have been talking about SPL for a while now with proposed details of the new system having been published in the Modern Workplaces consultation in May 2011. Although the government predicts that only 2-8% of eligible employees will take advantage of SPL, as we approach the 5 April 2015 employers should be ready to […]

10 Tricky Questions February 2015 With less than two months to go have you got Shared Parental Leave covered? Do you know what checks you need to make on your employee’s partner or how to treat an employee on Shared Parental Leave during a redundancy programme? Test your knowledge with our 10 tricky questions. […]

This type of fraud is now very common and any organisation that pays invoices is vulnerable to it. So what is invoice fraud and how can you minimise the risk of your business becoming a victim of it? What is invoice fraud? Invoice fraud takes place when a criminal impersonates a supplier and deceives […]

This note provides general guidance with regard to mediation and identifies those matters that ought to be considered in advance as part of a strategy for achieving a successful outcome. The following issues are looked at: What is mediation? Why mediate? The mediator The mediation process The aim of the mediation What happens if […]

Representations and warranties can appear very similar, but knowing the difference between them is important because it affects the potential remedies and damages available should the representations turn out to be false or the warranties are breached. These two legal concepts are explained below, along with a worked example to highlight the issue. 1 What […]

Many articles of association and shareholders agreements contain “drag along” provisions which enable a majority of the shareholders to require that a minority agree to sell their shares in the event of a proposed buyout by a third party. The reason for this is that most buyers of companies do not want to buy less […]

A legal guardian is appointed to care for a child in case both parents die before the child reaches eighteen. You should appoint a guardian for your children or the courts will do it for you if the worst should happen. The guardian will make important decisions about your children’s life in areas such […]

Roger Holman, Cripps’ tax expert, answers some questions he has received about paying tax on child benefit and the dreaded tax return. I have had a letter from HM Revenue & Customs telling me I need to pay the “High Income Child Benefit Charge”. What do I do? Many taxpayers have received similar […]

Cripps has worked with the University of Kent to unlock up to £75m in funding for campus enhancements. The loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide working capital for the university to support a programme of improvements to its Canterbury and Medway campuses. “We have worked with the University of Kent […]

The Court of Appeal held, in Santander UK v RA Legal Solicitors [2014] EWCA Civ 183, that a solicitor transferring money to another firm fraudulently purporting to act for the seller of a property the day before completion was a breach of trust, and the firm was not entitled to relief under s.61 Trustee Act […]

The Court of Appeal in Denton v TH White Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 906 has issued guidance in the form of a three stage test to be applied in applications for relief from sanctions pursuant to CPR 3.9. This test ‘clarifies’ the Mitchell guidelines and requires the court to: Identify and assess the […]

December 2014 Every business has to comply with regulations. These range from health and safety rules to environmental requirements. The purpose of regulations is to reduce the risk of workplace incidents but, no matter how good your procedures are, accidents can and do happen. When there is an incident the enforcement authority, such as […]

A firm of solicitors avoided paying substantial damages, despite being held to have been negligent, in the case of Hirtenstein and another v Hill Dickinson [2014] EWHC 2711 (Comm). Businessman Michael Hirtenstein purchased a EUR 4.5m yacht from a limited company. Mr Hirtenstein did not inspect the yacht, but was advised by his solicitor […]

This article seeks to address the following questions that we are often asked by clients: Can/should employers be carrying out criminal records checks for all/any of their current and prospective employees? If an employee refuses to provide this information or the results of those checks give the employer cause for concern, what are they able […]

On the 4 November 2014, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled in Bear Scotland v Fulton (and two other cases) that overtime payments should be included in the calculation of holiday pay. Previously, only basic pay counted when calculating holiday pay. This meant that many workers who regularly worked overtime received less pay when they took holiday. […]

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has now published a statement of principles for parcel deliveries. The statement of principles sets out voluntary best practice principles as to how retailers can ensure their delivery services meet the needs of their customers. The principles are also accompanied by a list of illustrative examples to assist […]

With the Christmas trading period fast approaching, many retailers will be reviewing options for maximising revenue during this time. A popular seasonal revenue stream is the sale of alcoholic gifts to be enjoyed at home. These gifts can range from speciality beers through to premium spirits and liqueurs. It can also include liquor confectionery […]

Generally speaking, employers treat disability with caution and rightly so, considering that there is no cap on the level of compensation payable for a successful discrimination claim. In 2013, the highest award made by a tribunal was for a disability discrimination claim, in which it awarded £387,472. During the same year, the average award for […]

Restrictive covenants and exclusivity clauses are often included in leases and other land agreements. From April 2011, all land agreements have been subject to competition law and there has been a risk that such restrictions could be prohibited as anti-competitive. In the first case on this matter, the Central London County Court has held that […]

The Supreme Court has recently thrown out a legal challenge by the owner of a Lancashire retail park hoping to expand the site. Peel Holdings wanted to open food and clothing stores alongside the electrical and furniture shops at the Whitebirk Retail Park near Blackburn and applied for certificates of lawfulness to enable it […]

New rules on food labelling are being brought in by the EU Food Information for Consumers (EU FIC) Regulation No. 1169/2011. The main objective of the EU FIC is to enable consumers to make balanced and healthier dietary choices. In order to achieve this, the EU FIC will require pre-packaged food to be labelled with its […]

Confidentiality Businesses will typically invest significant time and money in developing valuable data/information (for example, marketing or sales information) and therefore there is a need to protect this information from being taken and exploited by third parties. This article gives a brief explanation of the law relating to confidential information and provides tips on […]

The Intellectual Property Act 2014 (the Act), the latest measure designed to help businesses in the UK, will start to come into force from 1 October 2014. The Act seeks to modernise intellectual property (IP) law by simplifying and improving IP protection for the UK’s (hugely important) design sector. It is hoped that […]

September 2014 The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has recently imposed a fine of £150,000 on a company for failing to implement adequate security measures to protect personal information. This case demonstrates for all businesses dealing with personal information (whether of customers, employees, suppliers etc.) that data protection compliance is much more than just having […]

September 2014 For technology businesses, the world is becoming a smaller place and companies now often look outside of their immediate geographic location in order to engage the best talent for their business. However, when recruiting new employees, it is important to ensure that they have the necessary rights to work in the UK. […]

September 2014 The nature of the internet means that comments about your business can be published instantly to thousands of people around the world. Whilst good online reviews can do wonders for the reputation of a business, negative comments pose a considerable reputational risk. Equally, for the operators of review websites, the risk of […]

September 2014 A recent decision by the UK advertising regulator The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), calls into question whether native advertising can be done effectively without breaking the rules. What is native advertising? Native advertising is “native” to the environment in which it is placed. It seeks to engage the consumer by making […]

September 2014 Recent times have seen SME’s in the technology sector struggle to access bank loans and overdrafts. Crowdfunding, also known as peer-to-peer or peer-to-business lending, provides a potential alternative source of finance, and is becoming increasingly popular. In an aim to provide enhanced protection for consumers without discouraging the growth of this emerging […]

September 2014 All businesses use intellectual property. Whether it is the name of the business, its logo, the software it uses or the documentation it produces, intellectual property is being created or reused on a daily basis. For technology and advertising businesses, intellectual property is one of the most valuable assets and it is […]

September 2014 For the first time the European Court of Justice has considered issues concerning obesity-based discrimination. In this article we look at whether or not obesity could be deemed a disability under UK law. We also touch on the larger picture for employers; what impact is obesity having on the UK workforce and […]

September 2014 Why would you need a medical report? Later this year the Government is rolling out a new initiative whereby employees will now be referred by their GP to a new Health and Work Service when they reach or are expected to reach 4 weeks’ sickness absence. However, for those employers who […]

September 2014 Unfortunately, no employer is immune to employee sickness absence. The Office for National Statistics sickness absence report shows that sickness absence increases with age. With the abolition of the default retirement age, many employers will be faced with an aging workforce and (according to these statistics) potentially an increased rate of employee […]

The Government has again shown its commitment ‘to get Britain building’ in its latest consultation on planning law. The reforms proposed in the consultation are generally good news for developers. The Government has stated that its aim is to make practical improvements to help achieve development and housing which ‘our future growth depends on’. […]

Swaps: Don’t be late The review process agreed between the 9 major UK banks and the FCA in 2012, relating to allegations of the historic mis-selling of Interest Rate Hedging Products (‘Swaps’) is finally reaching its conclusion. Outside of this review time may be running out to bring legal claims. Those customers who joined […]

This is the first in a series of “Back to Basics” articles looking at intellectual Property and its potential value and relevance to you and your business. This article outlines what we mean by ‘copyright’, what it protects, who owns copyright and how a copyright owner can protect and commercially exploit its copyright. […]

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held in the case of Blackburn -v- Aldi Stores Ltd (Aldi) that even where an employer’s grievance procedure is not contractual, they should follow it. Mr Blackburn raised a grievance to his employer Aldi in accordance with their internal grievance procedure. The grievance procedure did not form part […]

Two 2013 Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decisions have thrown into the spotlight the scope of reasonable adjustments which would be required to be implemented for a disabled employee. Paying for private medical treatment In the case of Croft Vets Limited v Butcher the claimant, Mrs Butcher, was signed off work with work-related depression. […]

Contesting a will or bringing a claim over a trust or an estate can be distressing and complicated. Our specialists in this field have dealt with just about every conceivable difficulty that might arise and are ready to help you, whether bringing or defending a claim. Our guide to will, trust and estate disputes explains […]

Claims against professionals, such as accountants, financial advisers, solicitors, surveyors and architects, have become more common in recent years. This is due to a combination of factors including an increasing reliance upon professional advice, the complexity of work carried out, and a raised awareness of legal rights. Professional negligence claims can be complex and […]

An inquest into the death of a loved one can appear a very daunting process. However, inquests are becoming increasingly common and can play a vital role in enabling families to understand the facts surrounding the death and help them come to terms with their loss. In our experience, to get the most from […]

Although most disputes are settled without going to court, and the modern approach is very much to consider litigation as a last resort, litigation remains the most common formal method of dispute resolution. This guide to dispute resolution takes you through the litigation process whilst also identifying alternative ways to resolve disputes

Developers may be forgiven for drawing comfort and hope from the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in Coventry and others v Lawrence and another (2014) UKSC 13 in which the court refused an appeal by the neighbour of a speedway stadium who was complaining about noise nuisance caused by stock car racing. The […]

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by an applicant to register playing fields in Whitby as a town or village green (‘TVG’). The land, owned by Scarborough Borough Council, was acquired in the 1950s to provide a recreational area connected with the provision of housing. The Inspector at the original Inquiry refused the application […]

The Land Registry Property Alert service offers free protection against property fraud. Sign up free to receive Land Registry email alerts when official searches and applications are received against monitored property. Your don’t have to own the property to set up an alert. The same property can be monitored by different people. Properties that are […]

On 16 May 2014, the civil penalty for employing illegal workers was increased from £10,000 to £20,000 for each individual who does not have the right to work in the UK. Home Office statistics show that more than 8,500 civil penalties totalling £79,300,000 were issued to employers between 2008/09 and 2012/13. On 7 March 2014, […]

Break clauses in leases are frequently featured in the law reports. This article provides a recap of recent cases regarding the extent to which break conditions need to be complied with and whether rents need to be refunded if they are paid in advance of the break date, but relate to the period after the […]

The Court of Appeal revisited the 2013 High Court decision in Erimus Housing Limited -v- Barclays Wealth Trustees (Jersey) Limited recently, in a judgment that makes clear that the nature of a tenant’s holding over following expiry of a lease must be viewed in light of the specific circumstance of the occupation. In Erimus, […]

A recent Court of Appeal case highlights that landlords must have strong grounds in order to refuse a tenant’s application to assign a lease. The case in question, Singh v Dhanji [2014] EWCA Civ 414, concerned the assignment of the lease of a dental practice in Nottingham. In this case the landlord let the […]

The nature of the internet means that comments about your business can be published instantly to thousands of people around the world. Whilst good online reviews can do wonders for your reputation, negative comments pose a considerable reputational risk. What is the best way to protect your reputation? Legal remedies are not always the […]

A rebrand can take on many forms, ranging from a revamp of the company logo to a complete change in the whole company image. Businesses will want to rebrand for a variety of reasons, as a result of a recent merger perhaps or simply because the business is moving with the times, has adopted a […]

The Supreme Court has ruled [1]that a former equity partner of a law firm incorporated as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) was a worker [2]and therefore eligible to bring a whistleblowing claim against the LLP. Whilst whistleblowing claims may be relatively rare, the Supreme Court’s decision has potentially wide-reaching implications as it means that […]

Employers are now aware of their obligations to ensure that their eligible staff will be enrolled in a compliant pension scheme from the auto-enrolment staging date set by the government. One point that has been often overlooked is whether employers have the duty to consult with their employees regarding the changes to their pension […]

On 30 June 2014, all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service will be entitled to make a request for flexible working regardless of the reason. While the process will be less formal, employers will need to change their mind set when considering a request, as employees do not need a prescribed reason to make a […]

June 2014 It is that time of year again. A brief burst of sunshine and those of us who have failed to organise our holiday frantically search the internet for a week in the sun. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has also been thinking about holidays. Not their own, but what workers are entitled […]

The answer to this is relatively straightforward for personal accounts which make no reference to employers, and corporate accounts which make no reference to employees. Unfortunately a resounding question mark still hovers above those connections collated in LinkedIn accounts that represent both the employee and the employer. On creating a LinkedIn account an individual […]

PRS and PPL are independent schemes representing different rights holders’ interests in the use of recorded and live music in public. PRS (Performing Rights Society) protects the original “musical works” and licenses the use of lyrics and composed music in public performances, broadcasting and online on behalf of the song writers, composers and music […]

Within the space of one week, two of our clients were conned using the same basic technique. As a result we want to share this information as widely as possible to avoid you or your relatives being defrauded in the same way. In both cases, the fraudsters made use of the fact that if […]

The case of Wright v North Ayrshire Council has provided us with further clarification on the test for constructive dismissal. A constructive dismissal occurs where the employer does not dismiss the employee, but the employee resigns and can show that they were entitled to do so by virtue of the employer’s conduct. In […]

Due to the current state of the economic climate, some landlords are struggling to rent their properties and their difficulties can been intensified by the liability to pay business rates on empty properties. When leasing business premises, the common position is to include a provision requiring the tenant to pay all rates or taxes […]

A private right of way over land is known as an easement. The person entitled to the benefit of the easement is known as the ‘dominant owner’. If a dominant owner wishes to claim that there is an interference with their enjoyment of an easement, the dominant owner must show: That they are entitled […]

It is common for employers to enhance redundancy payments for their employees. In some instances this may be explicitly detailed as a contractual term in the employees’ contract, a formal redundancy policy or under a collective agreement. In the majority of cases however, an employer is likely to have used its discretion to make enhanced […]

In a recent review of economist Kate Barker’s 2004 report on housing supply, the Home Builders Federation has confirmed that England now has a shortfall of over a million homes. The Barker Review concluded that 210,000 private homes needed to be built each year to allow for England’s growing population and to prevent an […]

All businesses dealing with consumers are likely to need to update their terms and conditions and ordering processes in order to implement new Regulations by 13 June 2014. The new law The new Regulations – the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3134) – apply to most sales or […]

On 29 March 2014, the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013 comes into force, which legalises same-sex marriages for the first time. However, warns solicitors, Cripps, those already in a civil partnership will have to dissolve their partnership before they can marry. “The government has announced that section 9 of the Act, which allows for […]

Welcome to our first Employment News. This month, we look at a recent case on flexi-time working which highlights the need to have a clear policy in place. We also look at the changing landscape of employment tribunal claims. Finally, we have set out the new compensation limits and statutory payment rates. Don’t forget, […]

On the 23rd January an important planning appeal decision was made which many will see as a ‘win’ for developers. It was an appeal by Cooper Estates against Sevenoaks District Council. In this case the inspector decided that permission should be granted for four schemes which would create 140 new homes. One of the […]

Two major changes for LLPs and partnerships are to be brought in on 6 April 2014 [1]. These changes will have a significant impact on professional practices operating as LLPs with salaried or fixed share members and LLPs or partnerships with a mix of corporate and individual members. Salaried or Fixed Share Members Historically, […]

Whilst practical steps can be taken in order to minimise the risk of a dispute arising in the first place (see Avoiding Commercial Disputes), some thought should be given to how a dispute will be handled and managed should it arise. This is usually addressed in the contract by the inclusion of a dispute resolution […]

Happy New Year! I hope you survived the storms and rain that have hit the country in the festive period. In this Alert we look ahead to the employment law changes due to come into force in 2014. January – TUPE The changes to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 are […]